Good Also Comes With Bad in First EWU Scrimmage

Running game and new quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are sharp,
but turnovers were bad for the offense and good for the
defense

What was good for the Eastern Washington University offense was
bad for the defense. And vice versa.

The Eagle offense rolled up 364 yards but had three turnovers as
EWU ended spring practice No. 5 with a 55-play scrimmage Saturday
(April 10).

Junior quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, a transfer
from Southern Methodist University, completed 6-of-8 passes for 75
yards and a touchdown in his Eagle debut. In all, the offense also
had 194 yards on the ground and 170 through the air. But Eagle
running backs fumbled three times -- losing one that was recovered
by Bobby Gentry -- and the defense recorded
interceptions by linebackers Paul Ena and
J.C. Agen.

“There was some good and there was some bad like any
scrimmage,” said Eastern head coach Beau
Baldwin. “I know we turned the ball over way too
much on offense, and a couple that weren’t turnovers we put
it on the ground. That has to change -- we have to improve our ball
leverage and taking care of the football. We were up near the top
in the nation in turnover margin last season and we want to keep
that going. On defense we gave away a few too many big plays and we
need them to make our offense grind a little more when they have to
drive down the field. Those are the things we’ll want to
address heading into next week.”

A year ago, Eastern finished sixth in the NCAA Football
Championship Subdivision in turnover margin, averaging 1.25 less
turnovers per game than its opponents. Forcing three turnovers
Saturday was good news for the defense, but not the 85-yard run by
Darriell Beaumonte on the scrimmage’s first
play. In all, the defense allowed three rushes of at least 20 yards
-- six of at least 10 -- and allowed a 29-yard touchdown pass from
Mitchell to Nicholas Edwards to cap a six-play,
65-yard drive.

“I was happy in some respects and we had some good
negative plays created by the defense,” said Baldwin.
“But I was unhappy because I thought there were too many big
runs. A lot of times during game weeks, we have the goal to not
allow a run of over 15 or 20 yards in the entire game. At times it
was a little too easy for our running backs to break free.”

Eastern was productive on the ground despite the fact 1,000-yard
and All-America running back Taiwan Jones sat out
the scrimmage. But the fumbles were disturbing to Baldwin, who
threatened after the third fumble that the players were going to
have to carry the ball to classes next week.

“The good thing is that we probably won’t have to
say it again and we might see them walking around on Monday with a
football in their hands,” Baldwin laughed after the
scrimmage. “We don’t want to make them do it, but we
want them to take it upon themselves after they heard me yelling at
them. Whether they do or don’t, they better not be fumbling
on Tuesday.”

“I love the fact they created turnovers,” Baldwin
added of the defense. “I don’t want our offense to give
them up, but I love the fact our defense is creating them.”

Besides his 29-yard TD pass, Mitchell was also the quarterback
when Eastern scored touchdowns in a red zone drill early in the
scrimmage when Chase King scored on a 20-yard run
and Beaumonte scored from 1-yard out. Beaumonte finished with 98
yards rushing on just six carries, and King had 65 on four carries.

There were no other scores by the offense other than three field
goals by returning kicker Michael Jarrett, with a
long of 38. Eastern’s other five quarterbacks were a combined
11-of-22 for 95 yards and a pair of interceptions, with
Brandon Kaufman leading all receivers with four
catches for 39 yards.

“He played really well considering this was only practice
five,” Baldwin said of Mitchell, who passed for 4,590 yards
and 36 touchdowns at SMU where he started all 19 of the games he
played. “I’m sure he’ll be the first one to tell
you we’ll go back and watch video and find something on every
play to improve on. But he’s operating really well and
taken it upon himself away from practice time to understand
terminology and the system. He’s done a good job to put
himself in this position to have a good feel for the inner-workings
of the offense.”

Baldwin, however, wouldn’t go so far as to call him the
starter in the six-player battle for the quarterback position left
vacated by two-time Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year
Matt Nichols.

“He has some great skills and tools, but we want everybody
to battle through the whole spring,” Baldwin said. “But
we’ll probably get it down to three, maybe four, players
getting the majority of the reps in next week’s
practice.”

Remaining Practices: Practices take place
various days through April 29. Most practices are scheduled to
start at 4 p.m. (media interviews at approximately 3:45 p.m. or
after practice at about 6 p.m.). All practices take place on the
EWU Sports and Recreation Center practice fields.

April 13 - Practice, 4 p.m.

April 14 - Practice, 4 p.m.

April 16 - Practice (no pads), 4 p.m.

April 17 - Scrimmage, approx. 12:30 p.m., Woodward Field

April 20 - Practice, 4 p.m.

April 21 - Practice, 4 p.m.

April 24 - Red-White Spring Game, 2 p.m., Woodward Field

April 27 - Practice, 4 p.m.

April 28 - Practice, 4 p.m.

April 29 - Practice, 4 p.m.

Scrimmages: Eastern is also scheduled to
scrimmage on Saturday, April 17 (approximately 12:30 p.m.), with
locations to be determined based on field conditions. The annual
Red-White Game will take place on Saturday, April 24 at 2 p.m. at
Woodward Field in Cheney, Wash., in conjunction with Killin Weekend
at EWU.

Killin Dinner/Dance/Auction: Orland Killin
Weekend, which is presented by the Michael Roos Foundation,
includes the Coaches Golf Tournament on April 23 and the annual
Killin Dinner, Dance and Auction following the Red-White Game on
April 24. Besides the presence of former Eagle and Tennessee Titan
Michael Roos, this year’s event features host Colin Cowherd,
who is a former EWU student and is current an ESPN radio and TV
personality. More information on Killin Weekend is available at: http://goeags.com/trads/ewas-killin.html
and http://goeags.com/genrel/releases/10atFeb11ColinCowherd.